(31 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
West Jordan, Utah- 30 May 2024
1. Tyler Thompson photo held by his mother Rebecca Higbee and Miranda Thompson, stepmom.
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebecca Higbee, mother of Tyler Thompson:
"Tyler was excited. He was like, he’s never really been outside of the country. So he, as a 21 year old, wanted to have life experiences and wanted to see the world and and was very excited that he was invited to go with his friend Marcel to go see Africa."
3. Tyler Thompson photo held by his mother Rebecca Higbee and Miranda Thompson, stepmom.
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Miranda Thompson, stepmom of Tyler Thompson:
"So on May 19th, we found out that our son Tyler had been detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo, allegedly as part of a coup situation happening there. And at this point, we’ve just spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do, right? Like, we’re working with the U.S. embassy. We’re working with an attorney here. We’re trying to find an attorney there. And really just we’ve been very tactical logistic-focused on trying to get anything and everything done that we can to get him home."
5. Various of Rebecca Higbee, mother of Tyler Thompson, holding her phone with image of Tyler.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebecca Higbee, mother of Tyler Thompson:
"This is Marcel, TJ’s friend that he was going to Africa with. And on Sunday morning, Marcel’s mom came to my door. And when I answered it, she was like, are you Tyler Thompson’s mom? And I was like, yeah. And she’s like, I don’t know how to tell you this, but while the boys were in Africa, Marcel’s dad has been shot in front of the boys and they have been taken into custody. And now we’re getting pictures and and they’re being beaten and we don’t necessarily know what’s going on, but but they wanted to come over and tell me that the boys have been taken into custody."
7. Photo on screen of Tyler Thompson and Marcel Malanga at the Salt Lake City International Airport on April 10, 2024.
8. Rebecca Higbee crying as she looks at a picture of her son Tyler Thompson
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebecca Higbee, mother of Tyler Thompson:
"This is the last photo I took of me and my baby boy together at the airport."
10. Photo on screen of Tyler Thompson and mom Rebecca Higbee at the Salt Lake City International Airport on April 10, 2024
11. Rebecca Higbee, mother of Tyler Thompson, cries as she looks at the last photo taken with Tyler at the Salt Lake City International Airport
STORYLINE:
The parents of a 21-year-old Utah man who was one of three Americans arrested after an ill-fated attack on the presidential palace in the Congo wait for answers about the fate of their son from their home in a Salt Lake City suburb.
Tyler Thompson, 21, traveled to Africa in early April with his former high school football teammate, Marcel Malanga, for what his family believed was an all-expenses-paid vacation funded by Marcel’s father, Christian Malanga.
Congolese officials say Christian Malanga, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, was killed in a shootout May 19 after leading a brazen attack on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
Although the Congolese government has not clarified whether Thompson was among those arrested or killed, a video circulating on social media shows him surrounded by Congolese soldiers with his hands clasped tightly and a frightened look on his bloodied face. He and Marcel Malanga are forced to their feet and soldiers tie their hands behind their backs.
AP Video shot by Rick Bowmer
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